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I had planned a different network toplogy for sure, but this is my current setup and it seems to work well: I was not able to implement connection load balancing using the Miktrotik router. It was just too complicated and didn’t work reliably enough. My current network is a gigabit network across all areas, so every PC has gigabit cables, switch and so on. I either have plugged in my Virgin Media 1000mb/50mbs internet connection or my BRSK fibre 900mb/900mb connection. I simply plug in the WAN cable from the main Linksys router into one of the hubs at one time. If one connection goes down, I manually switch over. I have a 10GB/sec SFP link between my server upstairs in the study and my main studio PC downstairs. This allows me to transfer files at 10Gb/sec rate between the two. I need two wireless repeaters, even though I have a small house, because the house walls are made of a concrete mix. This means the wireless signal needs boosting a lot. In the future, I may try load balancing again, or wait until one of my service providers offers >1000mb/sec speeds. When this happens it would make sense to expand the 10Gbs/sec links as there would be more point.

I have nearly 20 years experience, so my skill-set is in high demand from all sorts of different organisations. If I were looking for a job, then these would be my priorities: Understanding of medical appointments - My situation is that I currently have cancer. Although it’s recommended I work, some of my time will be spent in medical appointments at the hospital that is 15 mins walk away from me. Currently this is expected to take up 1 weekday every fortnight. 100% working from home - This means that, several years down the line, the company policy will NOT change to ’everyone in the office’. Almost all meetings should be remote-first, meaning that everyone is an equal participant in them if they are working remotely. Some people can of course dial in from an office location but they should be at no communication advantage compared to remote workers. Also, the main communication for the team and organisation should be done online, remote workers should not be ‘second class citizens’ to water-cooler gossip. No Java technology stack - This means that Java and IntelliJ are not used as the mainstay of the application stack. I do not like working with Java and find it convoluted. No unethical industries - This means no gambling, no defence, no industries which disadvantage society in a big way in general. Good Pension - An above-average pension contribution. I would expect to be seeing at least 6% max employer contribution which is double the NEST minimum. Good Pay - This is negotiable but I need to pay my bills, and that includes the 10% inflationary cost of living crisis we’re in. Ability to use my own development environment - My customised development environment will run without issue on Linux machines, OSX machines, and on Windows 11 with WSL2. I am SO much more productive and happy using it. Learning and dev time or budget allocated (nice to have) - This is a ’nice to have’ but really if you aren’t able and willing to expense costs such as monthly technical books (£50/month) maybe you should be asking yourself why not, as an organisation.

I really like my Withings Mattress-Based Sleep Tracker . I keep unusual sleeping hours a lot of the time, as I’m undergoing treatment, and a lot of the medication I’m taking effect my sleep. Even when I’m relatively healthy, some of the medication I’m on for a long-term condition also affects my sleep. What’s more, I enjoy a non-standard sleeping schedule. I find I get more work done in the early morning or late at night. As I work from home 100% this is not as problematic as it used to be. ...

I have a relatively obscure hobby - I collect digital video games. Quite a few people collect physical games, but I like the advantages of having a large library of gaming options which are just a download away. Like a lot of collectors, I have more games than I have actually played, or probably will do in my lifetime. I mostly get them via discounted bundles such as HumbleBundle.com , so I rarely play full price for them. ...

Now that I actually have the internet connectivity being installed to make use of it, I am getting my home network design a bit more finished. Components: Virgin Hub providing a 1100/50mbps connection BetterInternet Fibre Hub providing a 900/900mbps connection Raspberry Pi 3 running Pi-Hole DNS MikroTik CRS309-1G-8S+IN Cloud Router Switch 4 x SFP+10Gb SFP+ RJ45 Copper Modules CAT8 30M Outdoor Cable to connect the studio to the study Short run CAT7 Patch Cables Windows 11 Studio PC with 10GB/sec SFP+ Port ThinkStation Server with twin 10GB/sec SFP+ Ports and separate gigabit NIC 3x LinkSys 3200WRT Routers in wireless repeater mode, creating a 2.4hz wireless network with speeds around 500mbps on average to each wireless device. TP-Link Gigabit switch Load-balancing internet connections: ...

I have had this knowledge in my head for a long time now and thought it would be better to write a diagram to explain the current setup for my MIDI routing. I use MIDI routing one way - MIDI OUT - from my UMC1820 sound interface. I have two keyboard controllers, one next to my computer, and one next to my Eurorack, that are attached via USB to my computer which I route the notes via Ableton to the MIDI out of the UMC1820 interface. ...

Did some network design for my home network. This will ensure that my new Virgin Media 1100mbps/50mps speed is fully utilised without any bottlenecks and will futureproof things up to at least 2.5Gbs/speed connections. I should be able to load balance both internet connections to utilise them both simultaniously in the future, but for now I want to be able to get greater than 1000mbit/s speed on a single device otherwise there is not much point in speed increases past 1000mbits. Also there is a 200-300mbits speed increase possible from my existing VM hardware that is not utilised in the current network. ...

This is my current DJ setup that I use for Twitch streaming mainly. 2x Reloop RL-8000mk2 turntables. 2x Serato ‘Butter Rug’ Slipmats. 2x Concorde Mk2 Digital carts. Numark NDX500 CDJ which I use for playing CDs, and as a Serato Controller as it has Serato Integration. Roland DJ-707m controller. Sennheiser HD-25 headphones. Rode Procaster mic with mic boom, pop shield and cage. t.bone MB 88U mic with table stand that I use as a guest microphone. AKAI LPD8 Midi controller which I use to trigger Serato Sampler samples. Macbook Pro Early 2015 Retina running Serato DJ Pro. Behringer TD-3 acid groovebox for adding acid patterns over the top of the Roland drum machine. The audio signal flow is below: ...

I use and recommend the following software for Windows. They’re all quite easy to use. The paid software all have lifetime subscriptions, which are worth it because you need the latest updates in this area. Aiseesoft Blu-ray Player: (for playing Blu-Rays) (paid) https://www.aiseesoft.com/blu-ray-player/ Easyfab Lossless Copy: (for ripping Blu-Rays, also works for DVDs) (paid) https://www.easefab.com/losslesscopy/ VLC: (for playing ripped copies) (free) https://www.videolan.org/ Handbrake: (for converting between different video formats and compressing video) (free) https://handbrake.fr/ ...

It may surprise some people to learn that I don’t use a word processor to write pure text any more, and haven’t for several months. I still have a subscription to Microsoft Office 365, and probably will as long as recruiters and offices around the world still pay the MS tax. I have created my own custom writing environment in my favourite text editor, VIM. This may sound like an absolutely foolish thing to do to anyone who knows VIM. By default, it is not setup at all to be an effective word processor. It is a programmers text editor, and a very complex and difficult to learn one at that. ...